Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Songkran celebration in Thailand

For 3 days Thai's celebrate Songkran which is their New Years celebration. The ritual includes spraying water on each other and coating themselves and others with a white paste over a period of 3 days.

On our way to dinner tonight at a nearby restaurant, we unexpectedly went directly into hoards of people celebrating Songkran. The streets were filled with 1000's of people. As we walked toward the restaurant, celebrants would throw water on you or spray you with water as well as paint your face with a white paste.

Even though it seemed like a chaotic mess, the Thai's were respectful to us as "forangs" (i.e. westerners)and politely approached us. All in all, it was fun once you got over the initial "splash" of cold water. Below is what we looked like when we arrived home. Below is what the crowd was like; picture taken from the restaurant.Below is what we looked like when we arrived at the restaurant.